Durable Designs

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During installation the responsiveness was great.  We do not live in the house and needed to correspnd via emails and texts.  She sent photos and responded daily.
When we finally got to visit and see the finished product first hand, we were not happy.  One wall was not level.  The top cap was not what we were told we would get. The stairway was narrow at the base and actuall is a safety hazard because of sharp edges into the walkway.  They actually cut away (notched) some of the existing deck support to make the retaining wall fit by it.  The top layer (can't even call it a cap) under the deck is cinder block and coated with stucco.  The tops of these two walls actually contact up against the bottom of the house's wood sill. They did not remove the pallets.
I called and spoke with her and she said she would take care of some of the issues and we would talk about the others again later.
Did not hear from her.  Tried a few times with no response  I actually just gave up.
I decided to let her know what I thought a few weeks ago via email and I got a response from the owner who said that person was no longer with the company.  She had been gone since about the time they finished our walls I think.  I didn't know that.  The work was done about a year ago.
The owner said (via email) that she would call me,.  I was pleased that she contacted me and hopeful we could get some items taken care of.  No call.  I had to call and leave a message.  She emailed back a few days later and said she was busy and her husband would call.  That was two days ago.

Great experience! Highly recommend!

They did an excellent job.  It was pretty much to look good; it really did improve the way the back of the house looked.  So we built a new deck but we put the wall underneath so that it kind of framed the area so that it did not look so eroded.  He was able to match the stone on the other parts of our house because he knew the quarry from where these stones came from.  The house was built 25 years ago.  I thought he would only give us a snow job but it wasn’t.  He matched them.  It looks fantastic. He has been in business for years.  I got them through recommendation.  Price wise I did not compare it with anybody else.  I have absolutely no complains.

They did a beautiful job under somewhat difficult conditions.  Incredibly, they managed to match the existing stone on our house!  Easy to work with and responsive to our taste and desires. Excellent job, I would highly recommend them. Pleasant, hardworking staff.

Durable Designs

They did a fine job. In the end, we were really happy with the work. It took a long time to finish but it wasn't really his fault. The pricing was what I expected. They were pretty responsive, punctual and  very professional. It was worth it, I love my front porch.

I hired Paula Austin as my real estate agent when I was moving last year, she helped us find our perfect forever home. We knew going in that it needed lots of work and we were up for the challenge. I wasn't aware of it when I hired her but she also owns Durable Designs with her husband Lee. Over the first year of owning this home I had called her several times for referrals for electricians and plumbers and she was always more than helpful and hooked me up with some awesome people. When we decided to do our fireplace I contacted Durable Designs and thought I'd give them a shot at biding the work. Not only did Lee have the most perfect design for it but he said it would only take a day and a half and the price was right and he was way more professional than the other contractors I had met. Just like when I had worked with Paula it seemed to be a good match. Well Lee showed up exactly when he said he would (never heard of a contractor actually showing up on time!) and the work was done exactly in the amount of time he said and the ugliest part of our room is now the best part of our house! So glad I met the Austin's, they are really great people and when I get ready to have an outside kitchen I will call them first!

They also installed an emergency generator for me.  The tile looks beautiful.  They have done great work.  Their project fee is 38%. 

They were very good.  It took a little longer, which I knew it would.  They are pricey, but they are very good. 

Project went well for the most part, especially the actual patio and masonry work.  Both of those were top notch.  Cons to the work was that we underestimated the time required and amount of dirt needed to backfill.  Estimate to complete the work was 1-2 weeks.  It took approx 15 weeks.  Delays were due to a combination of material shortages, weather, and possibly some communication misfires between Durable Design management and workers.  I don't want to be too critical here, because overall it was a good job and the workers were very courteous and hard working.  However, finishing off the last 5% of the job (the dirt) took up nearly half of the 15 weeks.  Again, weather did play a role as it did rain a lot over the last 8 weeks of the project, but the biggest problem was not bringing enough dirt such that it took multiple loads to finish the job.  Lesson learned is the need for better communication (and dirt required estimating).  As indicated by the ratings, these cons did not seriously detract from our assessment of the work and we are satisfied customers.

I travel a great deal with my work, and was out of town the week that the job started. I left a check for the 40% payment with my father and asked him to give it to Mark when he arrived. The project started on Monday, May 10, as planned. On Thursday, I was surprised to receive an e-mail from Mark stating that he would need to get the payment from me upon my return on Saturday. My father had gotten confused and did not give him the check when the work started, thinking he was to hand it over upon completion. I told Mark to ask my father for the check. I was amazed that they had worked 4 days on faith. I think their trust in me says very good things about the character of the company. The original plan called for pavers to be laid over an existing patio and the new patio created adjacent to that. After I thought about this awhile, I decided to leave the existing patio as-is and just increase the size of the new patio. This also required some changes to the extension of the retaining wall and the french drain. I asked Mark to please adjust the design and the estimate The contractor who installed the french drain also installed drainage lines for gutter downspouts, in case I ever decided to install gutters. When Mark calculated all of the changes, he told me that I would have a $1,900 credit. I questioned his calculations, as I absolutely believe the changes should have increased the total cost rather than decreasing it. He recalculated and determined that I would have an $800 credit. I questioned this figure also, and was told that the figures had been triple-checked and the price was good. Mark recommended gutters and arranged for an estimate which came back at $925, a very reasonable price. I asked that an additional change order be implemented to install the gutters. In total, the job took almost seven weeks to complete. We had a great deal of rain during that time, so I was not at all surprised. All of the workmen were very professional and did an excellent job. All of the trash was picked up and discarded. Mark even cleaned off my previously-existing patio. I was most pleased by the fact that everyone was very friendly and kind to my Dad who "supervised" the project throughout. I was on travel for 5 of the 7 weeks of the project, so only met a few of the workmen for very short periods. Mark kept me informed about progress via periodic e-mails and phone calls. I'm still convinced that Durable Designs short-changed themselves on the total price, but they stood by the ffinal. In all, I ended up with everything I wanted, plus previously unplanned gutters, for only $125 more than the original estimate. One of the reasons that I wanted this work done was to eliminate the rainwater seeping into my basement. I can already tell that this problem has been resolved. Working with Durable Designs was a great experience. Everyone was professional and friendly. My new hardscaping looks gorgeous, and I feel like I got great value for my money. I